Back in 2011, UNESCO declared Fado as being an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity marking it a symbol of national identity. Leading on from this, it was wonderful to speak with award-winning Fado artist LINA_ all about her brand new album ‘Fado Camões’ which came out on the 19th of January and most excitingly marks her debut as composer.

The artist LINA_ from Trás-os-Montes in northeastern Portugal told The Portugal News “I have had this passion for Fado since I was a little girl, my father always sang Fado at home so I always had this connection with it as a genre. Following studying singing, I realised what I really liked was Fado so I started singing in Fado houses even becoming a soloist in the Círculo Portuense de Ópera choir."

When asked about Fado in a global context, LINA_ said “Fado is rich in influences, from the coast of Europe to North Africa and even Brazil. I think that nowadays people are more receptive to Fado and it has become more accessible, globally speaking, through various online platforms.”

‘Fado Camões’

LINA_’s latest album ‘Fado Camões’ is an album of poetry which combines Camões lyrics with traditional Fado music. Produced by Justin Adams, best known for productions featuring Robert Plant, Rachid Taha, Tinariwen, Jah Wooble or Souad Massi as well as collaborations with distinguished names such as Brian Eno or Sinead O'Connor.

‘Fado Camões’ showcases the stripped-down elegance of the recent past, but now there's a new spatiality, where the voice stands out amid the piano, guitar and almost silence, creating other scenarios, with pain, fairness and dignity going hand in hand, as in ‘Desamor’ or ‘Senhora minha’.

Credits: Supplied Image; Author: Luís Mileu;

In terms of inspiration, LINA_ highlighted the musicality of Camões’ verses "I became curious, I wanted to know more, beyond ‘The Lusíadas' or the 'Sonetos', and I discovered that Camões' themes of childhood, love, falling out of love or the description of nature could be adapted to Fado and its metrics.”

Commemorating Camões

Multiple sources commend LINA_ for ‘reinventing’ Fado but LINA_ exclusively shared “I do not feel like I am innovating anything, I am taking traditional Fados. For me, Amália innovated through structure, for me innovation is when Fado has two chords and becomes five or six. I don’t feel I am innovating in that sense but perhaps in melody as the structure stays true to its roots.”

“It was a huge challenge to go to Camões poetry as his works represent the maximum of our linguistic origins. I think Camões should be commemorated, coincidentally, this year is the anniversary of 500 years since Camões was born and we must not forget someone so important in our culture. Amália had a great affection towards Camões and once said that Camões is the greatest Fado singer to exist and that he should not be kept in a drawer nor on a shelf.”

Adding, “I was moved by the way Camões writes and the themes depicted by Camões such as longing, the pain of estrangement and unrequited love all connect to Fado.”

When asked about the theme of ‘saudade’ which is known for not having a direct translation in any other language, LINA_ explained that “ ‘Saudade’ is a seal of Portugal and it is the feeling of missing something you once had but is now lost and it is always in our thoughts. It’s a desire to relive something, it is a memory of something but there are those who say that they miss the future.”

Adding that, “Saudade is very poetic, which Camões captures so well which is why I recorded the song ‘Lina Vaz de Camões’ where I adventured into composing along with “Se de saudade morrerei ou não”.

LINA_ on Tour

LINA_ finally shared her excitement for the upcoming tour and that she still hasn’t had the opportunity to sing her album live so she is ready to see what her audience thinks of the new album. “I think the song that moves me the most is Lina Vaz de Camões, it is one of the most beautiful love poems that Camões wrote and it is in prose without any structure so I adapted it to make into this song and it is the first song I composed which is where its name comes from.”

Upcoming Tour dates: Fado Camões at Teatro da Trindade in Lisbon on 30 January 2024, Fado Camões at Teatro Pax Júlia in Beja on 17 February 2024 and Fado Camões in Teatro Pavón in Madrid on 12 March 2024.

To keep up to date with LINA_ please visit www.lina.pt and for full tour dates please visit www.linda.pt/tour/. To follow LINA_ on social media please see:

https://www.instagram.com/linaartistofficial

https://www.Facebook.com/Linaartistofficial

Author

Following undertaking her university degree in English with American Literature in the UK, Cristina da Costa Brookes moved back to Portugal to pursue a career in Journalism, where she has worked at The Portugal News for 3 years. Cristina’s passion lies with Arts & Culture as well as sharing all important community-related news.

Cristina da Costa Brookes